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OPINION | 45th District representatives discuss education funding [4] CRIME ALERT | Redmond Police Blotter [3]
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014
A DIVISION OF SOUND PUBLISHING
SPORTS | Redmond High tennis player swings up a storm in league, club contests [10]
Mayor presents $617 million preliminary biennial budget Redmond Mayor John Marchione presented the 2015-16 preliminary biennial budget at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. The $617 million budget will run from January 2015
through December 2016 and bolster the city’s maintenance efforts, support Redmond to keep up with growth and offer services and investments the community desires. The budget was developed using the city’s Budgeting By Priorities (BP)
process, which builds a budget around the city’s six community priorities: business community, community building, clean and green,
CITY NEWS
infrastructure and growth, responsible government and safety. Citizens provided input for the budget through an annual community survey, the website tool Your City Your Choice, created in partnership with DigiPen Institute of Technology and
RHS sports teams ‘Pink Out’
a new Civic Budget Team made up of community members. “Citizen engagement is so important in the budget process because it’s how we are spending citizen dollars to address their key priorities,” said City Council member and
Gassen returns to his job following near drowning MATT PHELPS mphelps@kirklandreporter.com
From left: Lily Parker, Sophie McFadden, Andrea Snyder, Sarah Osborn and Josie Mckillop show off the T-shirts Redmond High School sports fans have been wearing at “Pink Out” events during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. SAMANTHA PAK, Redmond Reporter
Mustang players and fans recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com
Beginning this week and throughout next week, Redmond High School (RHS) sports teams and fans alike will be trading in their greenand-gold gear for pink.
Each fall, sports team will be holding a “Pink Out” event at an upcoming home game or meet in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is in October. This will be the second year the school will hold Pink Out events, though last year was limited to a pink day during
school and one RHS football game. Despite the smaller scale of the event, Andrea Snyder said it “took off like gangbusters” and they had a lot of people participate. “Everybody embraced it,” she said. “Male, female, it doesn’t matter.” [ more PINK page 9 ]
Public Administration and Finance Committee chair John Stillin. He added that the budget is the community’s budget and that as a council member, it is difficult to make decisions for and about the community with silence [ more BUDGET page 6 ]
Humanature Photography owner Bob Gassen lost more than a month of business, consciousness and has struggled to regain his strength and endurance after nearly dying when he fell into the icy waters of Puget Sound Aug. 19. But he still has his sense of humor and is starting to get back to normal. “It is a hell of a way to lose 20 pounds,” Gassen said at his Redmond home. “I don’t recommend the near-drowning diet.” He and his wife Mary are thankful for many things these days, including the outpouring of support from the Kirkland and Redmond communities during their time of need. “It was very overwhelming and touching,” Mary said. “All the expressions of concern and thoughtfulness.” When Bob was able to understand the outpouring from the community, it was overwhelming. “I was amazed when I
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got on my computer. All the emails and Facebook messages,” Bob said. “The cards and flowers and offers to cook meals for us from people we know and people we don’t. There were a lot of prayers and well wishes. It numbered in the high hundreds, if not in the thousands.” Bob, who is a member of the Kirkland Rotary, was also overwhelmed when he returned for his first meeting. “All 35 or 40 members welcomed me back individually. It was very emotional,” Bob said. “It is why I love Kirkland. It is a big city with a small-town feel. They really support their local merchants.” The support helped pull Bob, Mary and their family through a tough month. Bob was out on a sailboat with a friend in Tacoma when he fell backwards into the cold saltwater after helping to tie the boat to the dock. “I remember being in the water and thrashing [ more GASSEN page 9 ]
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SAMANTHA PAK spak@redmond-reporter.com